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Never one to resist a good sale, I got involved in the post-Christmas Body Shop sale action and ended up with a few ginger products. One of these was the Ginger Sparkle shower gel.

I love ginger – the taste, the smell, everything. It has often been associated with the festive season, but it is good all year round. This shower gel comes in a clear plastic bottle with a flip top lid and a cute picture of a gingerbread man on the side – very Christmassy.

Inside, the shower gel is a very pale brown and it is fairly thick. It has a lovely ginger smell. It lathers up really well with a shower puff and cleanses well with no skin irritation. It doesn’t moisturise my skin, but it doesn’t dry it out either, and I like layering it up with the body butter. It does leave a bit of a scent on my skin afterwards, but I can’t tell if it lasts for a long time as I always use body butter straight afterwards. Despite the name, I didn’t notice that the shower gel made my skin sparkle – this is probably a good thing though as shimmer isn’t always practical!

If this comes back next Christmas, I might repurchase – it’s not the best shower gel in the world, but it’s a pleasant festive treat.

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I was looking at the Collection makeup (formerly Collection 2000) in Boots and as well as purchasing my usual concealer, decided on the spot to buy a new lipstick as there was a ‘buy 1 get 1 half price’ offer. This lipstick cost £3.99, but I effectively got it for £2 – bargain!

The Deluxe lipstick seems to be a new sub-brand of lipstick from Collection, with only a few shades available. I chose Shade 02, Tallulah, as it was a pretty dusky pink. The lipstick contains shea butter and vitamin E, so it is designed to be very moisturising.

The packaging is fairly smart, with a clear part to the bottom that vividly shows up the colour of the lipstick. Very handy, I would imagine, when you’re looking in your makeup bag for the right shade. The lid is dark grey/silver with a little dot pattern on the top and the word ‘Deluxe’ along the side. I am fairly impressed with the packaging, which is more sophisticated and expensive-looking than I’d normally expect from the Collection brand. After carrying it around in my bag for weeks, the lid is generally secure – it did come off once, but only once, so it’s probably best to keep it in a makeup bag, but it isn’t hugely flimsy.

The lipstick goes on well and I find it quite moisturising. I do have rather dry lips and always find I have to use lip balm quite regularly. However, I’ve been able to get away with not using lip balm with this lipstick. Having said that, I prefer to exfoliate my lips before use, so I don’t get bits of dry skin on my lips.

The lipstick lasts a couple of hours, which isn’t great, and it does transfer to cups etc. when I am eating or drinking. In fairness I often find that this is the case for moisturising lipsticks, and I find that you often have to pay quite a lot of money for a lipstick if you want a really long-lasting one.

Overall, if you are looking for a moisturising lipstick on a budget, this Collection Deluxe lipstick is a good bet.

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I’m a huge fan of The Body Shop and always take the opportunity to try out their products. A while ago I bought a bottle of a perfume called Dreams Unlimited, which I really liked – it was a gorgeous floral fresh scent. When I saw that there was a matching body care range I knew I wanted to try it.

I rarely buy Body Shop products at full price – I always wait for a discount code or voucher. This was how I came to buy this shower gel plus some other products. It came in a long thin bottle, clear plastic, with a handy flip-top lid. It had an attractive pastel-coloured design.

The shower gel was clear in colour, and not too thick. It was easy to use in the shower and lathered up well. It had a lovely fresh floral scent, similar to the perfume. It cleansed well and didn’t dry my skin out, although it didn’t moisturise it either. I wasn’t too bothered about this as I used the matching body lotion at the same time, before layering up with the perfume. In itself, the shower gel’s scent didn’t last, but layered up, it worked well.

Normally priced at £4, this shower gel is a bit expensive at full price, but when on offer it is a good value product, especially as a little goes a long way. I would recommend it to anyone who likes the Dreams Unlimited perfume.

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I bought this facial wash a while ago in a 3 for 2 offer at Boots. The normal price is £3.99 for 150ml which I think is very reasonable; on offer it was even better. The full name of the product is Boots Botanics All Bright Cleansing Foam Wash.

The Botanics range has been part of Boots for a long time but in the last few years it has been somewhat revamped. Boots beauty scientists have worked with the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to select plant extracts that have a positive effect on the skin. In this particular product, hibiscus, which helps to boost skin brightness, has been included, while natural AHAs act as exfoliators. The face wash has been made without parabens and it has been tested by people.

The design of the tube is simple and pleasant, being white with a picture of a plant. It has a flip-top lid which means it is easy to squeeze out as much of the product as you want. The tube has been made of at least 25% recycled content and it is possible to recycle it.

The product is described as a soap-free facial wash that is lightly foaming. It is designed to lift away makeup and impurities gently, leaving skin detoxified and beautifully cleansed. You are meant to apply with fingertips to damp skin, applying in circular movements to work the cleanser up into a foam, then rinse with warm water. I normally use this in the shower in the morning, as I prefer to use a more creamy cleanser in the evening.

The product is easy to use. It has a faint, pleasant smell and I only need to use a small amount to get a good lather. It feels gentle on the skin and does not cause irritation; however, my skin feels completely clean after use, not dry or tight at all. The tube has lasted me a good few weeks.

I am impressed with this cleanser and I would repurchase. It is a pleasant product that does a good job and it is reasonably priced.

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Fun is a Lush product that was released in 2013. Invented by co-founder Mo Constantine, it is a rather innovative multi-use product. Squashy like Playdough, it is popular with children as it can be shaped and moulded into a variety of different shapes. If you go into a Lush store, you can see all the different shapes that have been made using the different colours of Fun.

A 4-in-1 product, it can be used in the shower or bath or as a shampoo, as well as a toy.

Fun normally comes in 5 different colours: red, green, yellow, pink and blue. This review will focus on the Green Fun. A 200g bar of fun costs £5.

*Ingredients*
All Fun bars are suitable for vegans and are made with a base of talc, cornflour and glycerine, which help to make it pliable and squidgy. The product does contain sodium laureth sulfate, which is the ingredient helping to make bubbles in bubble bath and which allows shampoo and shower gel to lather. Most products of this nature contain SLS, but some people are sensitive to this chemical, which can be a little harsh, so it’s worth being aware of it in case you prefer to avoid the product for this reason.

*Shampoo*
I have dry hair and I colour it regularly, so I was a little concerned about using this as a shampoo. However, I decided that a few washes wouldn’t hurt. It seemed to do a good job at keeping hair clean and didn’t irritate my scalp, although my hair did feel slightly dry. I wouldn’t use this on my hair regularly, but I’d happily take it on a weekend away to save space.

*Shower*
Being solid, the product was slightly tricky to use in the shower, but it lathered up very well. I do prefer shower jellies or shower gels, but again this would be a good product to take on a weekend away to save space.

*Bath*
I find it very easy to use Fun in the bath. It is similar to Lush’s bubble bars, albeit softer. I break off a small part – only a little is needed – and rub it between my fingers underneath the running water. Once the bath is run I am left with a lovely inviting bubble bath. The product is non-drying and the bubbles last ages in the water. The green fun turns the water a pale green colour and has a lovely refreshing smell.

*Conclusion*
I really like Fun – it is, well, fun. This one smells nice and it’s versatile, although I think it performs best as a bath product. I look forward to trying the other colours.

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A while ago, I got a sample of Katy Perry’s Killer Queen fragrance to try. I don’t normally go for celebrity fragrances, as it feels too much like endorsing the celebrity, but I was prepared to try this with an open mind. I quite like a few of Katy Perry’s songs, but I wouldn’t describe myself as a fan – still, I was happy to give the perfume a go.

***Bottle***
Naturally, my sample vial wasn’t particularly interesting, but the full bottle, which is designed to resemble a queen’s sceptre, definitely is. It is fun, bright and standout and would look great on a dressing table, if a little garish.

***The Fragrance***
The scent is designed to be playful and rebellious, a “Floriental” fragrance – a mixture of flora and oriental. It has top notes of dark plum, wild berry and bergamot, with a heart of red velvet flower, rainbow plumeria and natural jasmine sambac, with base notes of cashmeran, natural patchouli heart and liquid praline. Some of these ingredients were familiar to me, others were unheard of; and I was intrigued to read of the inclusion of liquid praline.

***My Experience***
Katy’s music tends to be aimed at the slightly younger listener, so I worried that this fragrance would be a little young for me. However, I found that it wasn’t the case. The fragrance smells sweet and quite unusual, a little fruity too. I could detect the plum and berry notes at the beginning, and as the day wore on I could detect the jasmine and patchouli as well as a hint of sweetness that might have been the praline.

I didn’t think the perfume lasted all that well – a couple of hours – but considering the price I don’t think this is too much of a problem.

***Price and Availability***
The fragrance is widely available in stores such as Boots and Superdrug. It costs £19.50 for 50ml which is a really good price (and makes sense considering teenagers and younger girls are probably the ones who will be interested).

***Conclusion***
I was actually quite impressed with this fragrance. It is an unusual, refreshing, sweet and fruity scent. The lack of staying power is the only issue but still, it is really well priced. I’m still not sure I want to go around wearing a Katy Perry perfume but I still do recommend it!

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A while ago I went through a phase of buying loads of stuff from The Body Shop. They always seemed to be having sales, and I took the opportunity to stock up on products. One of the items I bought was a bottle of the Dewberry Bath and Shower Gel.

This is part of a “retro” range called Anita’s Favourites (Anita Roddick being the original founder of The Body Shop) and is packaged slightly differently to the other products. It still comes in the same clear plastic bottle with flip-top lid, but the bottle cap is black instead of clear, and the label has a picture of an old Body Shop store. The Dewberry products were really popular in the 1990s, and it brought back memories for me to find them again!

The shower gel has that familiar fruity Dewberry smell, hard to describe unless you remember it from the first time round. It is purple in colour and lathers up really well on a shower puff. It cleans well and is non-drying, though it doesn’t actively moisturise the skin. I’ve been using this alongside the Dewberry Body Lotion, however, so I don’t mind that the shower gel is not moisturising. I can’t quite work out if the scent of the shower gel itself lasts on the skin, as I always add moisturiser straight away anyway.

At full price the shower gel cost £4 which is normal for The Body Shop but expensive for mostly everywhere else. However, I’ve never paid full price for anything here, I estimate it cost me around £2-£2.50 as I used a discount code.

I don’t know if this is still available in store or online, but you might be able to pick some up on eBay or it might turn up in a future BS sale. It isn’t the greatest shower gel in the world, but it’s a lovely nostalgic product.

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Fun is a Lush product that was released in 2013. Invented by co-founder Mo Constantine, it is a rather innovative multi-use product. Squashy like Playdough, it is popular with children as it can be shaped and moulded into a variety of different shapes. If you go into a Lush store, you can see all the different shapes that have been made using the different colours of Fun.

A 4-in-1 product, it can be used in the shower or bath or as a shampoo, as well as a toy.

Fun normally comes in 5 different colours: red, green, yellow, pink and blue. This review will focus on the Blue Fun. A 200g bar of fun costs £5.

*Ingredients*
All Fun bars are suitable for vegans and are made with a base of talc, cornflour and glycerine, which help to make it pliable and squidgy. The product does contain sodium laureth sulfate, which is the ingredient helping to make bubbles in bubble bath and which allows shampoo and shower gel to lather. Most products of this nature contain SLS, but some people are sensitive to this chemical, which can be a little harsh, so it’s worth being aware of it in case you prefer to avoid the product for this reason.

Blue Fun is a lovely rich blue colour and has a lovely calming scent, the result of the lavender oil, chamomile oil and chamomile blue oil with which it is scented.

*Shower*
Being solid, the product was slightly tricky to use in the shower, but it lathered up very well. I do prefer shower jellies or shower gels, but again this would be a good product to take on a weekend away to save space.

*Bath*
I find it very easy to use Fun in the bath. It is similar to Lush’s bubble bars, albeit softer. I break off a small part – only a little is needed – and rub it between my fingers underneath the running water. Once the bath is run I am left with a lovely inviting bubble bath. The product is non-drying and the bubbles last ages in the water. The blue fun turns the water a pale blue colour and has a lovely calming smell.

*Scent*
It isn’t an all-singing all-dancing exciting scent, but I find the combination of camomile and vanilla really helps me to relax. I find the scent lasts on the skin for a reasonable amount of time after use.

*Conclusion*
I really like Fun – it is, well, fun. This one smells nice and it’s versatile, although I think it performs best as a bath product. I look forward to trying the other colours.

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A while ago I ended up getting quite a lot of beauty boxes with various samples in. One of the products I got was the Ginvera Green Tea Exfoliating Marvel Gel. I hadn’t heard of this brand before but it appears to be widely available online, in places such as Harvey Nichols and Cult Beauty. A tube costs £22; I got a small 10ml sample.

The tube is a distinctive green colour which is appealing and attractive. The gel is designed to cleanse your pores, leading to young-looking and fresh skin free of blackheads and blemishes. To use, you need to apply a small amount onto dry skin – not a usual routine for a facial scrub. It contains green tea extract and is meant to exfoliate and remove the top layer of dead skin cells.

To use, rub into dry skin, massaging for approximately one minute. The product comes out like a gel and when you rub it in it is quite strange: the gel goes rather “bitty” but even so you can tell that it is cleansing your face. It feels lovely and cooling on the skin – ideal when you’re using it first thing in the morning – and my skin looks brighter immediately after use. It doesn’t cause any skin irritation at all and rinses off easily.

After using it every few days for a couple of weeks I could definitely see a difference in my skin. It was less shiny, more even-toned and freer from blemishes. Despite the high price I would definitely consider buying this again, as it does a really good job.

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Angels on Bare Skin is probably the most popular cleanser that Lush make. It has been around for years and it’s surprising that it’s taken me so long to get around to trying it. It has a lovely name I think, so-called because it is meant to do your skin a lot of good.

The cleanser comes in Lush’s famous black pots. If you collect five of these pots you can take them back to the store and get a free fresh face mask. The pot is simple but quite smart, I think, and I’m quite happy to have it on display on my bathroom shelf. The secure fastening helps to keep the cleanser fresh, which is important as Angels on Bare Skin contains minimal preservatives.

The cleanser is suitable for vegans and is made from 100% natural ingredients, inspired by a medieval recipe. It contains ground almonds which, when mixed with water and applied to the face, helps to brighten and tone the skin. It also contains kaolin which is an ingredient that absorbs grease and dirt. Lavender oil, rose absolute and camomile create the lovely delicate calming scent. The cleanser costs £6.40 for 100g which a little bit more than most good cleansers out there, but it really is a lovely product.

I normally use this in the morning, as I prefer a creamier cleanser in the evening. I use it in the shower, and get a small lump out of the pot, rub it to a paste in my palm then apply to my face. It is very gentle and doesn’t cause any irritation at all. The fresh lavender scent is calming and it is a very enjoyable product to use. My skin feels thoroughly clean after use, but it also feels extremely soft and not at all dry.

Regular use of this product helps to keep my skin glowing and in great condition. It is calming and gentle and seems to do my skin a lot of good. I will definitely be purchasing this one again.

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Fun is a Lush product that was released in 2013. Invented by co-founder Mo Constantine, it is a rather innovative multi-use product. Squashy like Playdough, it is popular with children as it can be shaped and moulded into a variety of different shapes. If you go into a Lush store, you can see all the different shapes that have been made using the different colours of Fun.

A 4-in-1 product, it can be used in the shower or bath or as a shampoo, as well as a toy.

Fun normally comes in 5 different colours: red, green, yellow, pink and blue. This review will focus on the Yellow Fun. A 200g bar of fun costs £5.

*Ingredients*
All Fun bars are suitable for vegans and are made with a base of talc, cornflour and glycerine, which help to make it pliable and squidgy. The product does contain sodium laureth sulfate, which is the ingredient helping to make bubbles in bubble bath and which allows shampoo and shower gel to lather. Most products of this nature contain SLS, but some people are sensitive to this chemical, which can be a little harsh, so it’s worth being aware of it in case you prefer to avoid the product for this reason.

*Maintenance and Storage*
Fun comes wrapped in biodegradable cellophane, but I recommend removing it from there as soon as possible and keeping it in a Lush pot or other container. Some Lush fans have reported that it can go soggy after a while, and while I haven’t experienced this myself, I would like to avoid it. The product can easily be squashed and shaped into the required shape to fit in a tub.

*Shower*
Being solid, the product was slightly tricky to use in the shower, but it lathered up very well. I do prefer shower jellies or shower gels, but again this would be a good product to take on a weekend away to save space.

*Bath*
I find it very easy to use Fun in the bath. It is similar to Lush’s bubble bars, albeit softer. I break off a small part – only a little is needed – and rub it between my fingers underneath the running water.

*Conclusion*
I really like Fun – it is, well, fun. This one smells nice and it’s versatile, although I think it performs best as a bath product. I look forward to trying the other colours.

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I got a mini bottle of this Beauty Protector Protect & Detangle Leave-In Conditioner in a beauty box ages ago. I’ve used it several times since and thought the time was right to review.

A full-size bottle of this costs £14; it contains 236ml of product which strikes me as a particularly random number! The bottle is red with black writing and a slightly gothic design, which I really like. The product is vegan, paraben-free and sulphate-free and it is designed as a leave-in conditioner which detangles, conditions and minimises frizz while also protecting against heat and UV rays. It has a pleasant smell which I like, but the smell is faint and goes away after a while, it doesn’t overpower your perfume.

I am pretty low-maintenance with my hair – I tend to wash and condition it then leave it to dry naturally. This product fit easily into my normal hair routine, requiring just a few sprays on my wet hair before I brushed it ready for drying. I rarely used it as a complete substitute for conditioner, as my hair is quite dry – instead I used it to help style and calm my hair, and provide extra moisture.

I can definitely tell the difference in my hair when I use this product. Even my wet hair feels noticeably smoother, and as it dries I can see that it looks more shiny, feels softer, and is clearly less frizzy, while also being easier to brush. It makes my not-really-styled-at-all hair look a bit more polished. I can’t confirm that it protects my hair from heat, as I haven’t really tested it, but it is reassuring knowing I have some kind of protection on my hair.

Regular use hasn’t caused the product to build up on my hair at all, and it still works just as well as it did at first. Despite the high price, it lasts ages as only a few sprays are needed each time. Definitely recommended.

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I’ve been dyeing my hair for several years now, ever since a former colleague described my hair colour as “mousy”. I wasn’t having that, so ever since I’ve dyed my hair, which is naturally dark blonde, a medium to dark brown shade.

One thing I love about this ten-minute dye is that it is so quick – I can even do it before work, if I get up half an hour earlier, which saves me wasting my weekend dyeing my hair. I get an old towel ready to wrap around my shoulders, put another one on the floor (though the dye doesn’t really drip so long as I am careful, so this isn’t a necessity) and smooth Vaseline along my hairline and on my eyebrows. This helps to prevent the dye staining my skin.

I LOVE that the dye is applied on dry hair. There’s nothing worse than shivering on a cold morning applying dye to wet hair, unable to put your dressing gown on because you don’t want to stain it! This way is much more comfortable. I comb out my hair, ensuring my parting is in the correct place, and I’m ready to go.

I put on the gloves and follow the instructions to mix up the dye, shaking the bottle and removing the tip straight afterwards. I use the precision applicator to apply the dye to my roots as instructed. I find it is relatively easy to angle the applicator and rub the dye into my hair. Once this is done, I wait five minutes or so, checking my skin during this time and wiping off any dye/reapplying Vaseline. I change the precision applicator to the comb applicator, and apply the rest of the dye to my hair. I find this really easy as it just works like a comb. I have to squeeze the tube slightly, but not much. After waiting the rest of the time – five minutes, though I sometimes leave it a little longer just to be sure – I get in the shower to rinse off the dye. This doesn’t take too long. My hair does feel quite dry afterwards, but I apply some of the conditioner included in the pack, and this sorts it out.

The dye lasts three or four weeks on my hair before it starts to fade, though this depends on the shampoo I use. I use the included intensive conditioner and it helps to keep my hair in good condition. Overall this is a great hair dye which is priced well and meets my needs: it is easy to use, quick to apply, and makes my hair look good. I don’t have any complaints and I intend to continue using it for as long as I am dyeing my hair.

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I have very pale eyelashes so mascara is an absolute must for me. I’ve tried several in my time, the most recent being Boots 17 Blow Out Mascara, available from Boots stores and online for £6.29. I picked some up when it was on a 3 for 2 offer.

The mascara comes in a thick black tube with the product name printed on. According to the Boots website, the mascara contains vitamin E and Argan oil, and is designed to condition lashes while lifting them to make them stand out.

The mascara is easy to apply, though the large brush means you have to be careful not to get mascara on the skin around your eyes. It does mean that it is fairly easy to coat all of the lashes, though difficult to get the small ones right at the end. The mascara seems to dry pretty quickly, and makes lashes look thicker and more defined.

One coat provides a nice daytime look, while two coats create a more intense look. I have to say though that my lashes still don’t look particularly dramatic. They look more defined, and I’d be happy to use this mascara during the day, but for the evening I prefer something a bit more dramatic.

The mascara doesn’t clump but it does start to flake slightly after several hours. This wasn’t too bad though and I was still able to wear it for a full day at work without any problems.

Overall, this is an OK mascara but I’ve used better, even for the same price.

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I often buy products from The Body Shop and one of my most recent purchases is the Seaweed Ionic Clay Mask. The store produces many different skin care ranges all designed for varying skin types. The Seaweed range is designed for oily/combination skin, which is my type.

The mask comes in a tub which has a blue water pattern, to fit in with the rest of the Seaweed range. A 100ml tub costs £12 but Body Shop products are always on special offer so I certainly didn’t pay this! The mask lasted me a good few months, even though I used it once a week.

The mask is described as a “revitalising” clay mask designed to cleanse and control excess oil. It has a fairly strong, but not unpleasant, smell and is grey, like clay. After washing my face I apply a thin layer of the mask. It is easy to apply, with a slightly sticky texture ensuring that the mask sticks.

You are supposed to leave the mask on for ten minutes, but unfortunately the mask started to make my skin itch so I only left it on for about five before washing off. I noticed that if I left it on for any longer it became really hard to remove – I had to scrub and scrub to get it off, leaving my face a bit red.

On the plus side, the mask seemed to do a good job at refreshing my skin and getting rid of dirt and grime. My skin seemed to have fewer spots and blackheads. However, on balance I think the mask is a bit harsh for me. It dried my skin out if left on too long, and made my skin itch. I will use the mask until it’s used up, but I probably won’t repurchase.